Does Home Staging Really Influence Potential Buyers?

Yes, according to the National Association of REALTORS who say that home staging can potentially motivate buyers to pay more for a property and influences their perception of a home. This is based on a survey conducted among more than 2,300 real estate agents representing both buyers and sellers.
A massive 81% of real estate agents representing buyers think that a staged home makes it easier for potential buyers to visualize the property as their home. Some 46% of agents representing buyers also thought that staging made buyers more willing to schedule a visit to a property they had viewed online. Not surprisingly, 45% of real estate agents say buyers tend to view a property more positively if it’s a decorated to their tastes. Interestingly 28% of real estate agents said buyers were more willing to overlook less desirable traits in a property if the home has been staged.

According to the article in Realtor Mag, real estate agents say that staging can potentially influence the type of offer a buyer will put in on a home. Apparently 32% of those agents acting for buyers thought that staged homes increased the amount buyers are willing to offer from between 1% to 5% while 16% thought a staged home had the potential to increase offers from between 6% to 10%. In spite of the potential for a seller to gain a better offer in their home, just 44% of agents representing sellers said they only recommend that sellers de-clutter a home and fix any faults in the property but do not necessarily recommend the home should be professionally staged. Just 34% of agents surveyed said they staged all homes they list while 13% only stage homes they think will be difficult to sell and 4% only stage high priced homes.

The survey carried out by the NAR also found the median dollar value to stage a property was $675 per home. Around 62% of seller’s agents offer a home staging service to their sellers, and 39% said sellers pay for the staging before the home is listed while 10% pay for staging once the property is sold. Another 3% of agents firms will pay for the home staging service. The three most important rooms to be staged are, in order of importance the living room, kitchen and master bedroom. The least important room to be staged is a guest bedroom.